


Three Little Birds Part 37

by nancy, Zen



Series: Three Little Birds [37]
Category: Highlander: The Series, The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Angst, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/M, M/M, Multi, Over the Top, POV Alternating, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-01
Updated: 2013-10-01
Packaged: 2017-12-28 03:37:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/987204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nancy/pseuds/nancy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zen/pseuds/Zen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zen&nancy's Crossover Soap Opera in which Blair Sandburg, Duncan MacLeod, and eventually, Jim Ellison shack up and share their lives. This is set outside of both series' timelines, just to make things easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Little Birds Part 37

**Author's Note:**

> This is crack!
> 
> Song title and lyrics borrowed without permission from Bob Marley.
> 
> This story was first published years ago at http://hos.slashcity.com/ and is archived here for preservation and accessibility.
> 
> Zen&nancy hope that very soon they will actually put an ending on this epic saga, after all these years.

Duncan raised the gate of the lift, surprised to find Jim stretched out on the couch, his feet propped up on a pillow and a beer in his hand.

"Hi! I didn't expect anybody to be home. It's good to see you." Duncan went quickly to lean over the back of the couch, giving Jim a brief, hard hug hello.

Jim smiled, but he looked tired, and Duncan wondered if he'd been sitting there worrying about something. "Rita and I wrapped up a case today, filed the first round of papers and came home early. Blair teaches late tonight, right?"

"I think so."

"Guess it's just you and me, then. Did you eat?"

"No, are you hungry? I could make us something."

Jim raised his eyebrows, smiling conspiratorially at him across the room when Duncan went to hang up his coat and set down his briefcase. "We _could_ just order a pizza."

"We could," Duncan allowed, grinning back. He came to flop down on the couch with Jim, feeling especially happy about the arm Jim flung around his shoulders.

"Extra everything, thin crust." Jim was whispering in his ear, in such a low, sexy tone that Duncan leaned back into his arm without thinking, responding to the warmth in Jim's voice.

"Mm, you've convinced me. One garbage pizza, extra grease."

Jim leaned in to nuzzle his neck before pulling away, settling against the arm of the couch again. "You know how to make a man happy, Mac."

Duncan chuckled, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "It's good to be home. So, how was this case? Anything especially bad?" Duncan was studying the creases in Jim's forehead, and the hunched, tense set of his shoulders even in his reclining position against the arm of the couch.

"No, just the usual," Jim answered dismissively with a convincing shake of his head. Duncan knew that he didn't like to bring his job stress home with him, it was something Jim had been serious about from the start. It wasn't that Jim never talked about work, but only when it was something he thought he or Blair could help him with. Jim had talked to him quite a bit about what kind of toll being a cop, and an entire city's Sentinel, had put on him in Cascade, and he was trying hard to deal with it differently here. So far, it seemed to be working.

"What's this, then?" Duncan asked quietly, reaching out to smooth the crease in the other man's brow, rubbing gently over his temple. Jim leaned into the light touch, closing his eyes for a moment. "That feels good."

Duncan moved a little closer, so that he could reach Jim's temples. "Well, I'll make you a deal. I'll rub all this stress out of your head, if you tell me all about what put it there. What do you say, fair deal?"

Jim grinned, nodding in agreement. Without saying anything, he reached for Duncan's hand, interlacing their fingers and squeezing hard for a moment. They sat still, just holding hands for a few minutes, and then Duncan got up to order the pizza. They had gotten into the habit of communicating without words quite well lately, and Duncan knew that Jim would talk to him when he was ready. So he ordered them the biggest garbage pizza Giggio's had to offer them, got two cold bottles of beer out of the refrigerator and brought them back to the couch. Handing one of the bottles over to Jim, he settled at the other end of the couch, reaching for the remote.

They watched the evening news until the pizza came, and Duncan got to see a ten second clip of Jim, looking pissed off about the camera and leading a hooded man out of an office building in handcuffs.

"I hate being on the news," Jim mumbled, sounding less upset about it than his words implied.

"I'd think you'd be used to it by now. I hate it too." Duncan confided, and then they both laughed.

"Is it a bad thing that we have paranoia in common?" Jim stretched, taking a long drink from his bottle.

Duncan smiled, shaking his head. "I don't think so. Besides, I've never felt safer."

* * *

Two hours later, the remains of an extra large pizza lay abandoned in its cardboard box on the coffee table. Duncan was settled comfortably into the corner of the couch, Jim's head in his lap. There was a hockey game on the t.v., providing background noise. Duncan stroked his fingertips lightly over Jim's forehead, waiting for him to relax.

"So, talk to me. What are you worrying about?"

"No, I'm not worrying." Jim's answer was mumbled, turning his head slightly into Duncan fingers, which were drawing slow, patient circles over his temples.

"Something..." Duncan prompted gently, drawing lines across Jim's brow with his fingertips.

"Mmm, thinking too hard," Jim chuckled, ending in a happy groan as Duncan's fingertips went back to circling his temples.

"About?" Duncan prompted softly, drawing slow lines over the muscles in Jim's jaw, and then more lightly over his sinuses.

"Ahh, well, Blair, I guess," Jim mumbled, enjoying Duncan's relaxation massage too much to speak clearly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. That's what's so weird." Jim turned his head into Duncan's hand, pressing his cheek into his palm. His eyes were closed, and his voice was quiet and calm.

"Okay, so, what's different?"

Jim smiled, shaking his head. "Duncan MacLeod, there's a line between perceptive and spooky."

"I'm perceptive. Now tell me, talk to me."

"I'm happy."

Duncan smiled, walking his fingertips to the back of Jim's skull and drawing circles there with just the right amount of pressure. It wasn't easy, but he'd learned that with enough patience and encouragement, Jim _would_ talk to him.

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing's _wrong_ with it."

"Are we still talking about the same _it_? Come on, lay it on the line for me, spell it out."

"Him being the one in charge," Jim whispered, muscles that had just relaxed under Duncan's touch tightening as he frowned, uncomfortable but determined to communicate. "Not just in bed, I mean. That too, though, everything."

"Uh-huh." Duncan agreed quietly, waiting for Jim to continue. When he didn't, Duncan took time to think about his next question carefully before he asked.

"Control has always been a big issue between you and him, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so. This is different, though."

Jim laughed at himself, and Duncan knew he was frustrated by his inability to put his feelings into words. Determined to drawn him out, Duncan concentrated on massaging Jim's temples and thought about what would be the best approach.

"You've changed, not the essentials of your character, but some pretty important things. I mean, it's not just your environment that's altered, it's your _self_ , so that's got to take some adjustment."

"If I hadn't, I'd be dead." Jim's quiet answer surprised him, and Duncan was moved by the strong urge to comfort. He stroked the sides of Jim's face lovingly, thinking about what he'd said. When he spoke, it was just above a whisper, the emotion in his voice easy to identify. None of them liked to think too much about the circumstances that had brought Jim to Seacouver.

"I know, but that doesn't mean it wasn't your decision. _You_ made that change, you made it happen."

"Mmm, with a lot of help."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit. You were strong enough to take a hard look at yourself and decide what needed to change. You've put just as much effort into making this work as Blair has."

Jim smiled, nodding slightly. "Yeah. He's what I need, Mac, what I want more than anything else in the damn world, what else was I going to do?"

Duncan chuckled quietly, walking his fingertips down the back of Jim's head to work on the bunched up muscles in his neck. "Well, you said yourself you're happy, so what's troubling you?"

"I think I'm just having a hard time understanding that putting Blair in charge _is_ the thing that makes me happy."

"Jim, there's nothing wrong with that," Duncan smiled; feeling like they'd actually gotten down to what was worrying Jim.

They were both quiet for a few minutes, while Duncan gently kneaded Jim's neck and shoulders.

"Duncan, can you explain something to me?"

"Sure, I'll do my best."

"How come none of that stuff matters to me where you're concerned? I mean about who's calling the shots."

Duncan stopped his massage long enough to lean down and kiss Jim on the forehead. " 'Cause it doesn't matter."

Jim laughed, shaking his head. "That doesn't make much sense, but you're right, it doesn't. So how come it matters so much with Blair?"

"Because what you have with Blair is a hell of a lot more complex, and there's a power to question, to decide who's in control of. With us, it's totally mutual, and a lot simpler, too."

"You can say that again," Jim mumbled sleepily, turning his head to the other side to smile at Duncan over his shoulder. "I'm gonna fall asleep on you soon." Jim yawned hugely, proving his point.

Duncan shut off the tv and helped Jim sit up, pushing his shoulders up as Jim rolled to a sitting position. "I'm tired, too. I'm going to take a quick shower and meet you in bed."

"Sounds like a plan," Jim mumbled to him sleepily, stripping off his shirt and undershirt as he made his way across the room to bed. Duncan watched him flop on top of the covers to unlace his shoes, thinking about how nice it had been to have Jim's company. Usually on the nights that Blair worked late Jim was either already asleep when Duncan came home, or working a late shift himself. It felt good to spend time alone together. The fact that Jim hardly ever slept down in his own loft made Duncan even happier. It seemed that the three of them were finding a way to let their lives mesh, and Duncan was content to let it develop slowly. What he thought of most when he contemplated his poly-relationship, was how very natural it seemed for the three of them to be together. In such a short time, Jim had become an integral part of his life.

Duncan took a quick, hot shower and dried his hair with a towel until it wasn't dripping anymore. He dragged a brush through it and headed for bed, shutting off the bathroom light as he left. Jim had left the light by the bed on for him, and was laying on his back, sprawled in the middle of the bed. It amazed Duncan how Jim could make his huge bed look so small. As Duncan turned off the light and crawled under the covers next to him, he heard Jim mumble something, but couldn't make out the words.

"What?" he asked quietly, knowing Jim would have no problem hearing him.

Jim rolled onto his side and sleepily threw his arm around Duncan, speaking a little more clearly. "I said, come here."

Duncan smiled and tucked one arm under his head, curling the other around Jim's torso. From chest to knees, they pressed themselves together. Jim's naked body surprised Duncan. Jim usually wore his boxers to bed, the fact that he had taken them off delighted Duncan. His skin felt smooth and warm against Duncan's torso, irresistibly inviting. Jim's eyes were only half open as he reached his hand into Duncan's hair, tilting his head back to kiss him, pressing small, wet, sweet nibbles at his lips. The gentleness and the lazy feel of Jim's sleepy mouth lulled Duncan into immediate relaxation. He felt himself melting into Jim's welcoming body, his hips picking up the subtle movements his half awake lover was making.

"I'm so tired, but you feel so good," the mumble against his neck raised goosebumps on Duncan's skin.

"This is nice," he whispered, thinking that "nice" was an extremely inadequate word, but it was the best his tired brain could come up with.

Jim pulled his face back from Duncan's neck, and Duncan opened his eyes. Jim's expression was completely relaxed, open and happy. Duncan smiled, reached his hand to Jim's face and lightly brushed his knuckles across Jim's cheek. Then he slowly rubbed his palm over the fuzzy brush cut. Pale blue eyes held his; Jim's sleepy, sexy gaze burned into him, and his half aroused cock twitched against Jim's flat stomach.

Passion won out over sleep and Duncan pulled Jim's mouth to his own, invading and arousing as his hand held Jim's head firmly in place. He felt their cocks grow hard against each other as Jim deepened the kiss, sucking Duncan's tongue into his mouth and feeding on it. The hand that had gone slack in his hair tightened, and Jim pulled back, panting.

Duncan quickly reached back and grabbed the Astroglide from the bedside table. Jim moaned as Duncan sloppily covered their groins, propping himself up on his elbow and squeezing the cold liquid over them. He tossed the lube and slowly ran his free hand over Jim's cock, and then his own. Lining their dicks up side by side, Duncan tossed his leg over Jim's hip. He wrapped his arm around Jim's slim waist, wiping his hand off on the sheets before pulling Jim against him.

"Ah, Mac," Jim moaned as they started to slide against each other.

The hand in his hair tightened again, and Jim pulled him back. Duncan let himself go and arched into the demanding gesture. He arched his back, letting Jim pull his body taut. Their hips rocked slowly, and Duncan was lost in the feel of slick hard muscles flexing and relaxing against him. Jim leaned forward and started biting his neck, grunting when he had Duncan's flesh between his teeth. Duncan's moans felt strained in his throat, his head being pulled back at such a harsh angle, but he needed to give voice to what Jim was making him feel, to share the emotion. This sweet, animal possession set Duncan on fire. His skin tingled, his cock throbbed, and his lungs couldn't catch enough air. What had started out a sleepy seduction had turned almost feral, yet some how incredibly loving.

Duncan felt Jim's bites turn to long, swiping licks. Their bodies sped up, the urgency for completion pushing his hips harder and faster against Jim's. Scattered words reached his ears as Duncan felt the pressure building against his spine.

"Jesus, Mac, harder... shit... so good." Jim stopped talking, and sunk his teeth into Duncan's shoulder muscle, hard.

As Jim's teeth broke his skin, Duncan came, screaming and thrashing in Jim's tight hold. His entire body exploded, and Duncan lost his equilibrium. He felt disconnected from space and time, lost in extreme, bone melting pleasure, with only Jim's arms holding him down, grounding him in this chaotic rush of orgasmic pleasure.

"Oh my God, that was... incredible doesn't even come close." Duncan's brain registered Jim's voice, somewhere through the haze. "Mac? Are you okay?"

The tinge of worry in Jim's tone pulled Duncan back to earth. He realized he was still laying limp and panting in Jim's arms. He made a serious effort and opened his eyes, smiling at Jim. "Mmm," he sighed. "I'm wonderful."

Duncan felt Jim chuckle, and energy began to return to his slack limbs.

"We're a mess, Mac. I don't have to wake up early, how about you? Think we could pull ourselves up out of bed and into the shower?" In between words kisses were being dropped on Duncan's shoulder, which had already healed.

"Yeah," Duncan laughed. "You know, I just took a shower."

Jim inhaled deeply and made a face, mischief twinkling in his eyes. "Trust me, you need another one."

"Very funny. Help me up and I'll wash your back for you."

Jim pulled them both up and out of bed, and they headed for the bathroom, playfully poking and trying to tickle each other.

* * *

Blair fit his key carefully into the door, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was after midnight, and he expected to find both Duncan and Jim asleep. He was exhausted himself, with the kind of over tired, cumulative stress that made his brain spin uselessly, neither able to give up on work and problems or capable of coming up with any sort of useful solutions.

The lights were shut off in the living room, and Blair dumped his pack quietly to the floor next to the couch, looking to the bed for a glimpse of his lover's forms under the covers. For some reason, there was always an imperative to connect visually with Jim when he came home, to identify his Sentinel's location and confirm his first guess. He almost always knew where Jim was in their big building, it was a homing device that seemed to work better the longer they lived together.

Blair's eyes identified the lack of sleeping bodies under the covers at the same time that his ears noticed the sound of the shower running. The light under the door confirmed the suspicion; Jim never bothered to turn on the light when he took a shower alone in the evening, he didn't need it. Blair sighed in disappointment as he shrugged out of his heavy winter coat and unlaced his hiking boots. Berating himself for the last half hour he'd spent at his desk, trying to catch up on his reading and falling asleep over a journal, Blair stripped down to his boxer shorts, tossing his jeans and sweater into the hamper. He was so tired that his fingers were clumsy and it took twice as long as it should have just to take his clothes off, but he was still sorry he'd missed their lovemaking.

Going into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator door and gulped orange juice out of the carton. Blair couldn't decide whether to simply flop into bed, which looked very cozy and appealing after they'd messed up the covers, or to stay awake long enough to go into the bathroom and say hi. He finally decided that he would only lay awake until they came to bed to join him, so going to bed would be pointless.

Going to the bathroom door he knocked lightly. "Hi, I'm home."

"Come in, Caro."

Blair smiled through the steam at the two naked, happy men soaping each other in the shower. "Hi, sorry I'm late. I had the longest day ever."

"Poor baby. Join us?" Duncan offered, sliding the glass door back to encourage him.

Blair shook his head, loose hair flying around his face. "Too tired. I just want to flop. Sorry I missed the opportunity to watch, though."

Jim laughed, and Duncan shook his head, sliding the door closed so he wouldn't flood the bathroom. "We wouldn't have been much of a show, we were sloppy and tired, right Jim?"

Jim smiled at his Guide through the glass, an uncharacteristically shy expression. "He's right, Chief, you didn't miss anything spectacular, just a couple of tired guys too horny to fall asleep."

"Oh man, I'm there. Everything that's been a potential pain in the ass for the last three weeks decided to explode into full fledged crisis today. I swear, I used to think academics were smart people."

Jim's sympathetic laughter quickly turned into a groan of pleasure, Duncan was sucking on his neck. "Mac, you make it damn hard to talk, you know that?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, hey, Duncan, don't let me stop you." Blair teased, leaning towards them to get a better view through the glass.

"Mm, Mac, come on, aren't we supposed to be trying to get clean here? So we can go back to bed?" Jim's argument was weakened considerably by his laughter.

"Bed, bed sounds good. God you two look good together." Blair's boxer shorts were tenting, his cock responding quickly to the sight of all the slick, naked skin in front of him.

"You think so?" Duncan asked him devilishly, pulling Jim back against his chest and wrapping his arms around Jim's torso. One hand slid down Jim's stomach to curl around his cock, holding him up for Blair to judge.

" _Yes_." Blair hissed, laughing helplessly. "You're mean, Duncan. I'm too tired, man, really."

"Mm, there are parts of your anatomy that disagree, Caro."

"He's right." Jim put in his two cents, arching back against Duncan's chest. "Duncan, why don't you just give our little voyeur something to watch, huh?"

"We could." Duncan agreed, his voice low and sexy.

"Suck me off." Jim's voice was commanding, but still gentle.

"With pleasure." Duncan purred, then dropped to his knees, turning Jim slightly, so Blair had a perfect view.

"Oh man." Blair groaned, leaning against the wall. He watched as Duncan slowly slide his mouth over Jim's erection.

He saw Jim reach out to hold the wall for support and knew how a blowjob from Duncan could make you weak in the knees. Jim reached down with his other hand and pulled Duncan's hair back, so Blair could see better. He found it interesting that Jim was not only comfortable with this, he had initiated it. Who would have thought that Detective James Ellison would be an exhibitionist?Just the thought made his cock jump. He pulled off his boxers and started touching himself. Very lightly, teasing himself as much as the scene in front of him.

Looking at them through the glass door gave the illusion of distance, as if Duncan and Jim didn't even know he was there. Blair stroked himself harder as he watched Jim's eyes fall shut and his guttural groans got louder. Duncan's eyes were staring up at Jim, his throat distended from the act of deep throating. Blair wondered how he ever got so lucky. Not only did he have two wonderful, gorgeous men who loved him, but at the moment they were indulging two of his biggest kinks. Voyeurism and a strong man being submissive. Jim was thrusting into Duncan's mouth now, muttering obscenities between grunts. Jim took his hand from the wall and grabbed the other side of Duncan's head. Blair felt his toes curl when Duncan closed his eyes and let his head go limp in Jim's grasp. As Jim fucked Duncan's mouth, Blair realized he was whimpering, and he needed some more lube than just the humidity of the shower and his own leaking cum. He couldn't look away from Jim and Duncan, so he licked and spit into his hand. It would have to do.

Jim didn't last much longer. Soon he was yelling and coming down Duncan's throat. He was magnificent like this, his power and his beauty was amazing. He watched as Jim recovered, and pulled Duncan up from the shower floor. They smiled at each other briefly, then Duncan slid the shower door open and pulled Blair in.

"I want you," Duncan panted at him, pushing him under the water and rubbing against him.

Blair grabbed the soap soon they were stroking each other frantically, kissing and biting everywhere. There wasn't time for niceties, as far as Blair was concerned. He was aching for release by the time Duncan had pulled him in here, and now his body was tensing; he was almost there.

"Duncan, please, just a little harder."

Duncan moaned, tightened his grip, and cried out as he came. Blair followed, instantly becoming light-headed. He fell forward, against Duncan's chest and wrapped his arms tightly around his lover.

"I love you, kiddo." Duncan spoke quietly against his ear.

"Mmm, love you, man, so much."

"Come on Blair, let's go to bed. Jim's way ahead of us." Duncan rinsed them off and then shut off the shower.

"He is?" Blair hadn't noticed that Jim was already brushing his teeth.

Duncan laughed as they grabbed towels and Jim shut off the sink. "We never seem to get enough sleep around here."

They left the bathroom laughing, and crawled into bed.

* * *

Methos admired Amanda as she rolled off of him, and stretched luxuriously. Her skin glistened with sweat, but goosebumps had started to rise on her quickly cooling skin. The cool air of the room was a sharp contrast to the heat their bodies had just been generating. Amanda arched her back, letting out a contented sound as she stretched. He loved watching her in this blissful, post-coital state. Without thinking, Methos reached his hand out to skim ever so lightly across her smooth stomach. She arched higher into his touch and he continued to brush his hand lightly over skin, moving up to lightly cup her full breast and then skim over her nipple. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Methos cupped her face in his hand, reveling in the closeness they had developed in the past few weeks.

"You are so beautiful." He rolled onto his side, resting his head in his hand, and took in the loveliness of a satiated Amanda.

"You're not so bad yourself." She smiled, raking her eyes up and down his naked body. "It's a pity the way you hide yourself in those baggy clothes."

"Yeah, well, survival is more important than vanity. It's safer to blend in."

"We can't let anything happen to the 5000 year old man now, can we?" Amanda teased, and then placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. "I've been thinking."

"Always a dangerous thing," he teased back.

She poked him in the belly. "Very funny. Seriously Methos, I was thinking that maybe we should get an apartment. This suite is lovely, but very  expensive."

"You mean, get a flat together?" His eyebrows furrowed uncontrollably. "Live together?"

"Yes, why not? We've been having fun so far, my money won't hold out very long at the rate we're spending it, and I don't want to go just yet. You're good company, and you said you wanted to keep an eye on Duncan, so why not?" She rolled over and pushed him flat against the bed,throwing an arm and a leg across him.

Methos realized that Amanda had him pinned. It was gentle and friendly at the moment, but he knew if he tried to get up she would do her best to stop him. What was disturbing about this was that Amanda had obviously figured him out well enough to know his first instinct would be to put distance between them.

"Give me a minute to think about this." He stared into her deceptively innocent, round eyes.

"Sure." She smiled, then curled around him, snuggling her head onto his shoulder.

He absentmindedly ran his hand up and down her bare back as he mulled it over. It was true, they had been having  lot of fun. More fun than he'd had in many years. Amanda was more than just a bit of fun, though, she was a damn good friend. She wasn't nearly as flighty as she wanted the world to think. Friendship and loyalty were things she took very seriously, and Methos did feel that he could trust her. Well, with the important things, anyway.

"So, what kind of an arrangement are we talking about, here?" He needed to know what Amanda expected out of this.

"Arrangement? Well, I figured I'd put a collar around your neck and get a nice cage to keep you in, but I'd get you a nice fluffy pillow to sleep on." She pinched his nipple hard, and continued, "Relax, would you? I'm not asking you to marry me, just shack up for a while. We could even have separate bedrooms. I'm not trying to step on your toes, Methos, I just don't want to have this end yet. I've been running around the globe for months. It would be nice to stay put somewhere for a while, and you're a good friend. The past couple of weeks have been wonderful, why stop?"

"Separate bedrooms?" He began to think that this might work.

"Sure, if it would make you feel better. I can't promise I won't crawl into your bed in the middle of the night, from time to time, though." A deep, warm kiss punctuated her words.

"No strings, no commitments, either one of us can get up and leave whenever we want, no hard feelings?" If anyone had the right disposition for this type of relationship, it was Amanda. She certainly understood the need to get up and go, and he didn't think she'd be possessive. Nosy and bossy were Amanda's style, but not controlling.

Amanda smiled at him, "I told you, Methos, I don't want to marry you. You are a very dear friend, and I do love you, but I'm not looking for a relationship any more than you are. Don't freak out on me, I just think we should find someplace a bit more economical to live."

While she was giving this speech, Amanda had sat up and straddled hips. The move was much more assertive than sexual, and he realized he was worrying for nothing. It seemed that Amanda wanted the same things he did, so why shouldn't they enjoy each other's company while they kept an eye on Duncan?

"Okay, you've convinced me. Maybe I can get Joe to let me tend bar, or get a job at the university." He marveled at how her face lit up when she smiled like that.

"Wonderful," Amanda leaned forward, bracing her hands on either side of Methos' head.

He pulled her down, hard, and rolled her over before she knew what hit her. He felt lighter than he had a few minutes ago. Having someone as intelligent, intuitive, and beautiful as Amanda to keep him company gave him a sense of belonging that he hadn't had in centuries. It was nice not to be alone, for however long it lasted. This revelation sent a shot of joy through him, and he began to tickle Amanda relentlessly, causing her to squirm and wiggle under him. Unfortunately, she found an opening and shoved her knee into his lungs, knocking the air out of him and propelling him over the edge of the bed. Methos managed to take her with him, and they landed with a thud on the floor.

"Quiet down or they'll kick us out before we can find a flat," Methos laughed as he scolded Amanda.

"I love playing rough with you." She was out of breath and red in the face from all the tickling, but her eyes gleamed.

"You think playing house will be just as easy?" He found himself hoping it would be.

She sat up and smiled at him. "Yes, Methos, I think it can be this easy. It has been so far. Besides, I like having someone older than me for a change." She winked at him, and then got up. "Let's order room service. We may as well enjoy it while we can."

* * *

 End part 37


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